


Prince Charming

by notantihero



Category: Persona 4, Persona Series
Genre: Cannibalism, F/F, F/M, Gore, Torture, Yandere, it's fullblown yandere, like i'm not joking guys, romance... kinda, slow torture, these people need therapy, yandere!rise, yandere!yukiko
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-14
Updated: 2014-07-14
Packaged: 2018-02-08 20:45:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1955553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notantihero/pseuds/notantihero
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Because the Prince Charming never betrays his princess. Have a gaggle of mistresses, sure. But never the princess. But when he does, when he does, isn't it the duty of the princess to dispose of her competition? Rise's methods may not be pretty, but they're effective. It's a bit hard to cheat, after all, when there's no one left to cheat with.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic contains extreme yandere scenes. Like, blood and bits and torture and jealous girls, hence the rating. If you can’t stomach that stuff, please close this. You’ve been warned.

Rise stopped watching dramas when she met Souji. If wasn't as if her fantasies were completely devoid of a prince charming to carry her far, far away from Inaba, from the unpleasant reality of the world – it wasn't. The lingering hope for such fairy tales is like a persistent parasite in every girl's mind, even if they are unaware, even if the world has lost all its joy and every morning is a mere drudgery of a repetition. 

(It burrows in your subconscious like a tick. Like the image of a gray haired boy with solemn eyes.) 

No, she didn't wish for a prince. Not in a metaphorical sense like Yukiko and Chie but in a more concrete 

(more concrete than what?) 

way – physically, perhaps. Emotionally. She's not quite sure. But then Souji came. Souji came and he's sooo handsome and kind don't you think so Chie-sempai? And Rise was head over heels with love. 

_So in love._

“I love you, sempai.” 

“We'll always be together won't we? You'll love me forever and ever won't you?” 

“I'll never love anyone like I love you.” 

She said it like it's going out of fashion. She always had been the strange girl who only buys things after the trend fades, after all. It even earned her a reputation as The Idol Who Revives at one time, much to the joy of her public relations team. She thought it was the stupidest thing, but nonetheless smiled for camera, trying to maintain the best angle, wondering if her hair her makeup her stance her image her Risette was still perfect. 

And then Souji was-- where was she again? Oh yeah. And then Souji asked her out. Or was it before she said she loved him? Well, it doesn't matter. Souji asked her out and she was so happy she immediately treated the whole team at the food-court. She should have realized then – because... because his mouth was quirked in that way, you know? That particular way with that tug at the corner of his mouth, because the next time she saw it she was moaning his name in ecstasy under his rhythmic thrusts, their bodies gleaming with sweat, with come, with saliva. Once she had looked up only to see him smiling? smirking and his eyes were so dull dull dull it sent chills down her spine. 

There is the same smirk playing on his lips whenever she sees him alone with another girl from the team – because it's all too easy to run into each other in such a small town, but he never takes that into account, did he? Each time she remains out of sight, ignoring the racing beats in her chest – the sudden urge to gnash her teeth and feel the running liquid when she drives a nail into his eyes cuts his lips off 

(do you feel how I bleed? _DO YOU_?) 

that fucking cheating bastard and his fucking whores. 

It hindsight, it should have been obvious. But love makes you blind, remember? She thought she knew how love feels. It was as simple as batting your eyelashes, pretending to pout, and then going in for the climatic kiss, wasn't it? She'd been in love so many times in front of the camera she's starting to lose count, because they're all the same. Boy meets girl and helps her overcome her insignificant insecurities, or girls bangs into the boy in the hallway and falls down looking helpless while discreetly showing a lot of thighs. And usually ends with ten seconds of foreplay leading to unsafe sex before the screen cuts off to black. 

But when Souji came it was anything but simple. It's still not – but she has learned to live with it like she's learned to ignore the sight of her (enemies) friends having their limbs torn off. But one can get used to anything, and so she's used to his indifference; his coldness as he shrugs off her request for dates. But sometimes he turns back into the same gentle boy she fell in love with, the boy with eerily precise answers and manipulative guile. Of course they always end up fucking when that happens. But she's okay with that. And she'll ignore his personal entourage of hidden whores as long as 

“We're spending Christmas Eve together, right?” she says, burying her face into the arm of his coat. It's eight in the afternoon at Okina, the air was surprisingly warm and the date surprisingly good. It's almost romantic, really. But he's distracted, scanning the crowd for unwanted familiar faces, just in case. She knows and she's okay with that, too. “So?” she asks again when there is only silence. “Are we?” 

“...yes. Of course we will,” he says, and smiles at her in a way that makes her heart skip a beat. She hates his cool, indifferent answer, but doesn't let it bother her because she loves his smile. It's a perfect day, after all. Even the occasional _are you Risette? Ohmygod ohmygod you're freaking Risette!_ doesn't ruin her mood. 

She likes the attention he gives her today, them walking side by side like this, her arms linked around his. It feels almost like a fairy tale: the king and queen of Merryland walking in the midst of their merry, merry subjects. She must have laughed at the image because Souji is looking at her with a quirked eyebrow. “Are you alright?” he says in something that resembles genuine concern. 

“Yep. Just remembered when Teddie--” 

He follows her line of sight. “You want one of those?” 

“Oh... no, it just caught my eye, that's all. I'm not actually interested in it.” 

“Don't worry, Yosuke got me a few shifts at Junes so I'm fairly loaded right now.” 

“Sempai...” 

“Wait here.” He waves off her protests, unlinks their arms, and strides into the shop. Moments later he comes back with a stuffed bear. “I took the one that looks least like Teddie. Won't want to remember him while you sleep, after all. I hope you like it.” 

Rise takes the bear and hugs it tight against her. “…I do. Thank you, sempai.” Then she blushes and says: “I love you.” 

He brushes her locks away and kisses her on the forehead. “I know.” 

Of course, the next thing she remembers is him pushing her into a bathroom stall and slipping his fingers inside her. She reminds herself to clean the bear later on; bathroom floors are dirty, after all. But that's okay, too; as long as he sees her and her only. 

* * *

It's really no fun shopping for presents alone, Rise thinks as she brushes her fingers absentmindedly against the rack. And why is she in Junes anyway? When she was in the city it was as simple as running out of her doorstep, into the mall, and everything was there – ripe for the picking. She's beginning to feel more and more like a country hick. Shopping for Christmas presents in Junes, out of all places. Who does that? Oh right. Pretty much everyone who lives in Inaba and its vicinity, that's who. 

Well, that's a bit wrong. She's here because there's nothing else in Inaba – she's pretty doubtful Souji would like a block of tofu as his Christmas present. Which means she will have to take the train and go to Okina alone. Not a good idea because hey, she's oh my god freaking Risette it's Risette Risette Risette can I have your autograph you look better in real life I masturbate every day thinking about you Risette! 

(Who's Kujikawa Rise? Oh, you mean that idol with those awesome legs? Yeah, that's her.) 

Idiots. She sighs and thinks about giving the block of tofu anyway (because grandma makes the meanest tofu ever so he'd better appreciate it – and it's the time spent together that counts, right?), when a familiar voice calls out to her. 

“Kujikawa-san?” Yukiko says, carrying a fire extinguisher (...why?) that looks entirely too big for her person. “Are you shopping for dinner, too?” 

Is she? Wait, why is she on the grocery section when she's trying to find a present for Souji? “Oh no, I'm…” Rise pauses. “Um. Why the extinguisher?” 

“This? Kasai-san told me to get one since last time I almost burnt the kitchen down.” 

“...oh. Okay.” Rise tries to think of ways to excuse herself without making it any more awkward, but as she opens her mouth, she thinks better and says instead: “say, Yukiko-sempai? Are you free right now?” 

Yukiko glances at the fire extinguisher, then up at Rise, appearing to think it over. Then she says, “well... I suppose this can wait. Is there anything I can help you with?” 

“Well, you know, I've been thinking. Since it's nearly Christmas and all...” 

* * *

Out of all the members in the Investigation Team, Rise can easily say that Yukiko is her favourite – apart from Souji, of course. There are others, but none of them are like Yukiko. They're a bit... ( _slutty_ ) barbaric, to put it mildly. Chie seems to take a perverse pleasure in kicking trees, Naoto has that fetish with her guns, Kanji spends too much of his time making sock puppets, and Yosuke is just... well, Yosuke. And Teddie sparkles too damn much sometimes Rise feels like stuffing him into those overrated vampire books that are all the rage these days. 

Yukiko's different. Well, Rise doesn't know why she's different – it's something like a gut feeling; those sixth sense stuff? Yukiko's always quiet and always logical, after all. The voice of reason. Not to mention she's a very efficient healer, and that makes Rise's job so much easier. And even her maniacal laugh can be endearing, after you get used to it. But Rise's jealous, too. Because she's pretty – maybe even prettier than her. And there's an air of effortless elegance in every action she does: something Rise can never, ever achieve, for all her classes and all her coaches and the careful strides in the mirror ( _step forward with one foot over the other in a straight line; no no no don't slouch – swing your hips this way so you hair bounces that way so the lighting falls like that_ ... what a joke). She's jealous because Yukiko's _beautiful_ in a way that's the exact opposite of Rise's carefully cultivated beauty. 

Despite all that, despite the urge to take a pair of scissors and cut those perfect hair and that perfect face, she doesn't hate her, not exactly. Because. Because. Well, just because. And that's fine, all right? 

“Sorry, I'm not used to big cities...” Yukiko says, staring cautiously at her surroundings. “There are so many people...” 

Rise laughs and gently grabs Yukiko's wrist. “It's okay, sempai. It can be overwhelming after Inaba... here, I'll hold you so we won't get separated, okay?” 

Yukiko gives her a dazzling smile and inches closer. “Thank you, Kujikawa-san.” 

“...no problem, sempai.” 

Come to think of it, maybe bringing Yukiko is a bad idea, because two pretty girls attract more attention than one, and what's that fat guy with a camera doing? 

“Hey you're Risette ri--” 

“Oh look!” Rise says, “pretty shop!” And pushes Yukiko inside. 

“What--” 

“Sorry, someone recognized me back there,” Rise says sheepishly. “But hey, at least we went into the right shop. Maybe. At least there're a lot of things here... I wonder if I can get the perfect present.” 

There's a lot of pink too, she realizes. Rise wonders how people can bathe in so much pink for a prolonged period of time without getting seizures. Shouldn't there be a regulation against this? 

She glances at Yukiko and notices her inspecting a bowl half-heartedly. Rise sidles closer and taps her on the shoulder. “Who are you going to give the present to?” 

Another thing she's jealous of: Yukiko doesn't have to take acting classes to learn how to blush. 

“Well, I'm thinking of giving something for everyone, and...” (and there's that lovely shade of rosy red on her cheeks Rise wants so badly) “and I thought I'd give something special to Chie. I mean, she's… she's... um. Do you think she'll like this? I mean, she eats so much and and--” 

Giggling, Rise pats her on the back. “I understand, sempai, no need to explain.” Then she takes a closer look at the bowl and sees... well, the ugliest bowl in her fifteen years of life. 

“Uh,” she says doubtfully, “wouldn't she be happier with a Bruce Lee poster or steak or something?” 

“Well, I thought that she has so much of those so I want to give something different, but...” Yukiko looks so dejected Rise almost feels guilty. “But I guess you're right.” She places the bowl back and stares at her feet. 

“W-- wait, I'll help you with finding a present for Chie-sempai, okay? Cheer up, sempai. I'm sure both of us can find something that'll make her happy, so let's just browse around first, okay?” 

Maybe that's why she can't bring herself to hate her, because Yukiko has zero interest in Souji. And that's okay in her book. 

She still hates her perfect face, though. 

* * *

After two hours of browsing aimlessly, they finally got what they were looking for. 

Yukiko's happy with the running shoes she bought for Chie, and Rise's happy with the watch she bought for Souji. It's a bit expensive – decreasing her savings by fifty thousand yen – but if it's for him, then it can only be the best, right? Rise doesn't mind even if she only has a little bit of money left in her account, because Souji is Souji and she'll do anything for him. 

She in love, and love makes one blind 

(feeds on you like a glorified parasite) 

to everything else. Makes you blind to your lover's flaws and faults, his lies and deceits. But she's not blind, see? She knows all about his affairs and his collection of girlfriends, so she's definitely not blind. She's just... tolerant. Yes. Tolerant. That's a good word. One has to be tolerant to make a relationship work, she once read in a shoddy gossip magazine (below it: _Five Ways to Surprise Him in Bed_ ). She can bury her jealousy and unease because he promised they're going to spend Christmas together – the ultimate emotional consummation for young couples. 

Souji never breaks his promise (because he never commits himself into making one), so Rise will give him the benefit of the doubt. They'll spend Christmas together, and then they'll eat the cake she made, and then they'll have sex and after that they'll lie together in bed, basking in an awesome post-coital cuddle. She's got it all planned. Everything will be just, just perfect. 

Besides the cake she tries to make, at least. 

That will probably be the one flaw in her plan, because the counter is covered in flour and egg, and there's nothing to show for it besides something slimy and black. Well, it's the thought that counts. He won't mind, because Souji's nice and kind when he wants to be. And isn't she his favourite? 

But first. The counter. And oh, the teddy bear. She needs to clean that up, too. Got to do that before grandma comes home. She would probably have a heart attack when she sees her beloved kitchen like this. 

Wait. Maybe she should text him first. 

_Looking forward to spending xmas with you sempai ^_^_ she writes, then pockets her phone inside her apron. 

__

Now, the detergent and... where's that sponge? 

* * *

It's seven in the afternoon and Rise is walking towards Souji's house with the meticulously wrapped present clutched in her hand and the plastic bag containing grandma's best tofu swinging from her elbow. It's going to be a good night. The stars are beautiful, and if Rise looks closely and lets her imagination run wild, she thinks she can even arrange the chaos into constellations. And there's the evening star, shining brighter than everything else. It's going to be a good night, even if Souji never replied to her text, even if her calls were unanswered. Because how can things go wrong when she has all the stars watching over her? 

Even Kanzeon is quiet; there's none of her constant chatter of mercy and forgiveness and this and that – because despite of how much Rise loves her persona, it can get annoying after a while. But Kanzeon knows her better than anyone else, so she remains silent because she knows Rise is happy. The happiest she has been in a long time. That's enough for Rise: the acknowledgment that her persona understands her; supports her in her Quest for Love. 

She's almost at Souji's house when Kanzeon suddenly catches a strong emotion. Overwhelming joy. Love. Rise feels it, but knows it's not hers. The emotion is so different from hers, so different, they might as well be the opposite in the spectrum of light. It's bright, energetic, brilliant, stronger, almost blinding – it reminds her of a familiar colour... magenta? Yellow? Something along that line. She has no time to dwell on such a trivial matter, however. But she sincerely wishes the lucky person good luck. It's Christmas Eve, and everyone deserves to be happy, even if it's only for today. 

Before she knows it, she's already in front of the Dojima residence. She checks her reflection, straightens her coat, rearranges her presents and knocks. And knocks. 

...strange. There's no answer. But the lights are on and there's a sound like muffled cries. And Souji promised, so he should be in. He should. He fucking _promised._ Unless 

She sighs in relief when the door opens, revealing Souji (why is his hair tousled like that? His shirt half-unbuttoned?). She doesn't understand why he looks so surprised when it's a date and she's expected. Isn't she. She is. Because otherwise otherwise no, Souji will never do that. Because the Prince Charming never betrays his princess. Have a gaggle of mistresses, sure. But never the princess. 

“Rise? Why are you here?” the Prince Charming says, looking not quite so charming with his dishevelled look. 

Rise stares at him for a moment. Then at the floor, where she sees Souji's usual shoes, and... and a pair of sneakers. And only one person in the entire team uses sneakers. “Oh, it's nothing. Just wanted to wish you merry Christmas.” She smiles at his (guiltyguiltyguilty) befuddled look. “Merry Christmas, sempai. Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do.” 

Souji closes the door without so much as a thank you, Rise, you too. Rise walks away. Maybe she should sit and rest somewhere. Somewhere with swings and see-saws, like the ones she used to play on as a kid. A park, then. 

(it's not magenta or yellow; it's green green _GREEN_ ) 

One thing she loves about living in Japan is the abundance of parks. One can't walk more than a hundred metres without bumping into one. But she's been walking for fifteen minutes and there's nothing but rice paddies and the occasional wooden houses. Not even a convenience store. Or a car. It feels like an alien world compared to the hustle and bustle of the city. An alien world where there are shadows and Shadows, and fogs rolling by, and deserted streets after eight, and ominous television sets. Like a B-grade slasher movie, but without the mask wearing axe-murderer. 

She'll have to improvise, then. So she sits under the nearest tree and stares at the night sky. She can't make out the constellations, or galaxies, or the evening star. Because her sight is blurry. So, so blurry. She needs to buy new contacts first thing tomorrow. And grandma's tofu-- oh, there it is. Grandma's tofu. Maybe she should eat it. She skipped dinner so she'll appear slimmer to Souji, after all; and now her stomach is grumbling. How many calories are there in tofu? She doesn't want to get fat, but maybe, maybe just this once. 

She takes a bite and it melts in her mouth. It's delicious, but salty. She needs to remind grandma to go easier on the salt. 

* * *

The next day she arranges a meeting with Yukiko. She doesn't care if it's the 25th and everyone is still in holiday mode or if Yukiko sounds like she had just woken up. 

“Look sempai, I'm sorry I woke you up. And I know it's sudden, but we need to meet,” she says into the phone. Her free hand is holding a pen, and she's writing meticulously on a brand new notepad. There's a pause on the phone, then the rustle of fabric. Yukiko sounds like she's either dressing up or rolling around inside her blanket. A moment later Rise hears an intelligible, groggy mumble. “It's already ten, sempai.” Rise sighs, moving the phone between her ear and shoulder. “No I... not a good time? Well then. I guess you don't want to know about Chie-sem-- oh. Okay. No, not Junes. I'll go to the inn, is that alright? Yeah. See you, sempai.” 

With that over with, Rise stuffs her notepad inside her bag along with the pen, zips her boots up, and heads towards the door. 

“Don't be so prude, Kanzeon. Manipulation is part of compassion, too. Just ask Sun Tzu. Or maybe it's Confucius. What? ...oh. My wallet. Thanks.” 

* * *

“Are you sure? Because...” Yukiko hesitates, sliding the cup between her hands. Left. Right. Left. Right. “Because Chie said that she's...” 

“Going to spend the day with you? Yeah, I heard that too from Souji-sempai. The same lame promise.” 

Yukiko looks beautiful in white, with her loosely clad yukata and hair sticking out here and there. She doesn't even bother with polishing her looks after waking up: the type of girl who can roll out of bed and still appear perfect. Rise wonders if she can pull that look off, without make up and that yukata thing. Probably not; her manager would kill her. If she still had one. Does she? She’s not sure anymore. 

“But Chie would never do that. She's... she said she loves me. She's just busy, wasn't she? She did say her family was going to have a private party with the extended family and her presence was required, so she couldn't spend Christmas with me.” 

Oh, sempai, stop bothering my train of thought, Rise almost blurts out. But instead she says: “yeah. Souji-sempai would probably say that too. If he had even bothered with sparing my feelings.” 

Yeah. What an asshole. Prince Charming has gone to the dark side. Or maybe he's always been there from the beginning. Rise takes a sip of her green tea, and almost gagged. It's definitely not a drink fit for mortals. She glares and it and wonders if it's expired or something, because it's probably bitter enough to knock an elephant down. But green tea is good for the metabolism, and god knows Rise's not slim enough. So she takes little sips, and waits for Yukiko to sort out her thoughts. They're in the same sinking boat, after all. And when a boat is sinking, the only logical action is to punch more holes into it and sabotage another boat. 

“But maybe you're wrong, maybe it's not Chie. Someone else. It's easy to mistake something like that, after all.” 

And maybe burn both boats down. Welcome to the We Just Got Screwed By Our Princes club! 

Rise rolls her eyes at Yukiko's naivety. “Please, sempai. It's Chie-sempai's favourite training shoes, okay? And who the hell would wear sneakers for _Christmas_?” 

“A member of the sports club?” 

What the. Unless Souji's gay (well, he might be, actually, seeing his penchant to screwing any biped that moves) and his partner has extremely small feet. “Fine. What about the clothes? I saw it, sempai. Chie-sempai's clothes on the floor.” 

“Maybe--” 

“Don't even. It's Chie-sempai's. The tell-tale green jacket? Check. The hot pants? Yeah. Check. The shoes? Cheeck. The green underwear? Totally.” Okay, fine. Maybe she took a bit artistic liberty with the clothes part. She didn't see anything, but that doesn't mean nothing was there. Knowing Souji, Chie was probably in the bathroom, or handcuffed to his table, or naked in the backyard or something. He has the weirdest fetishes, sometimes. 

Yukiko looks down. The cup has stopped moving (thank god. It was getting annoying), but Rise notices that Yukiko's biting her lower lip. “I have to think about this,” she says after a moment of silence, not even looking at Rise. 

Rise takes one last sip and rises from her seat, knowing that she has overstayed her welcome. “Okay. I'm always available, sempai, if you need to talk. Or anything at all. Remember that.” And walks out, wondering how Yukiko must be feeling, to have her prince fail her twice. 

* * *

She bumps into Yosuke as she approaches the flood plains for her daily walk. 

“Rise!” Yosuke shouts from the distance, waving enthusiastically. He jogs towards Rise, then doubles over upon reaching her, out of breath. Pretty weak for someone who spent at least three days a week fighting Shadows. But then again, they haven't gone into the TV for a while. 

“Afternoon, sempai. It's rare meeting you here.” Rise smiles, then hands Yosuke the water bottle she's been carrying. And watches in chagrin as he gulps down half of it. Damn. Where's the nearest vending machine again? 

Apparently satisfied, Yosuke screws lid back on and jerks his thumb backwards over his shoulder. “Yeah, Teddie pestered me all morning to bring him fishing here. It's Christmas and all, but the guy has no social etiquette anyway. I'm kinda used to it by now.” He shrugs and gives her a wry grin that probably means I-find-him-annoying-but-I'm-also-kinda-fond-of-him-so-now-we're-best-buds. “So hey, what are you--” 

Her phone chimes loudly. Rise reads the caller ID, then smiles apologetically at Yosuke. “Sorry sempai, gotta take this.” 

“Go on. Don't worry about me.” 

She holds the phone on her ear, listens for a while, then says simply: “okay.” And flips it closed. 

Surprising. It hasn't even been four hours, but she's already made a decision. But hey, life is good. She beams at Yosuke because she can't help it. Everything is falling perfectly in place. 

“Whoa, who was that? Your boyfriend? You look positively happy, man.” 

Rise grins. “Well, you guessed wrong then. But right now she's more important to me than a simple boyfriend.” 

“She? Wait, are you--” 

“Sorry gotta go, sempai. Have a nice day fishing with Teddie. Hope you catch something. Say hi to him, okay?” 

“Sure. Hey, your water--” 

But Rise is already skipping away. Her heart feels light. It feels like the thrill of lining dominoes perfectly, then watching the line topple as they collapse onto each other, unbroken. Like watching Humpty Dumpty cracking his head open when he fell off the wall. 


	2. Chapter 2

_Take the trail leading into the woods behind the inn. Turn left as you reach the first intersection, there's a stair leading down. It's narrow and some of the stones are loose, so watch out. Keep walking straight for eight minutes – there's an overgrown path the right. Trek down the slope, and you should_

__

Rise feels like throwing her phone at an unsuspecting bird. The compass and topographic map she brought might as well serve as a cat litter box, because everything looks _the same_. It's like reading a game walkthrough, and then realizing you've missed an intersection or an event back somewhere, and then you're oh so screwed because you have to backtrack and re-do everything all over again. But Rise can't even backtrack, because she has no clue if she's even walking in the right direction or going around in circles. 

And the signal on her phone is shoddy, so she can't even call Yukiko, in case she's mauled by a bear or stumbles upon a ginger bread house occupied by a long-nosed witch. But there's her pride, too. If she gets lost because of something like this, then how is she going to realise her life-long dream of climbing the Everest? Nope. She'll just... just walk forward. She's bound to find something soon. Hopefully without encountering a bear-- and oh hey, thanks jutting root, for tripping me when I'm already down. 

And thanks, jutting root, because without it she would have missed the double door hidden under a small cliff with overgrown vines. Weird. It looks like it's made of metal. Rusty and very, very heavy. Maybe this is what Yukiko was talking about. Rise approaches it cautiously and pokes it with her index finger. Not budging. She tries it again with both hands this time. Nooot budgiiiing. God, it probably weighs one tonne. Okay. So last resort. She watched Chie enough in battles to absorb all her moves, after all. So maybe... crap. She probably broke her ankle. 

She is sitting on the ground, slowly massaging her ankle when the door creaks open. Yukiko emerges from the darkness, blinking at the sight. “Are you alright?” 

“Oh just dandy, sempai,” Rise says cheerfully. “Just tried to kick the door and it's kinda hard, y'know. Pity you didn't come later, probably would've broken two ankles instead of one. Two for one. Ha ha.” 

Yukiko ignores the sarcasm expertly and bends down in front of Rise. “It's not broken,” she says after careful observation, “just a bit swollen from the impact.” Rise glares at her. Yukiko sighs and offers her hand. “You could have knocked.” 

“Well, experience says that kicking is more effective.” Regardless, Rise takes Yukiko's hand and hobbles onto her feet. Yukiko's right, it doesn't hurt as much as she thought. Testing the limit of her ankle, Rise decides that it's all right and politely declines Yukiko's offer to support her by the shoulder. 

“If that's what you want,” Yukiko says as she walks inside, leaving Rise to catch up with her. 

Not a good way to treat someone who had just fought against a door and lost, Rise thinks as she tries to match Yukiko's long strides. The hallway is long and dark, with only the lantern Yukiko is holding as their source of light. It casts an eerie glow: montages of shadows that can be something or nothing at all, depending on your level of paranoia. It used to freak her out, those shadows, but now she feels at ease. It feels like old friends there to comfort her. Why the change? Because she's following her lost love into the underworld? Like Izanagi and Izanami. But Izanagi is a traitor, just like Souji. She'll be different. She won't be repulsed; she'll bathe in the rot and enjoy every moment of it. 

The shadows are getting thinner and thinner, and suddenly she finds herself in a dimly lit room. It's quite big, with candles placed here and there; no doubt prepared by Yukiko. And there's... well, there's a long table in the middle of the room, with a few chairs scattered about. That's so random. “What's this place? An operating theatre for illegal immigrants or something?” 

Yukiko glances at Rise and motions her to follow. “It's a bomb shelter,” Yukiko says. “I discovered this when Chie and I were exploring the place. Eight or nine years ago, I think.” Yukiko ignores the chairs and instead hoists herself onto the table, sitting there with her legs dangling. “Sit.” 

Rise obliged. It's strange, her sempai's behaviour. Yukiko is almost never stern outside of battle (unless Teddie has been stealing her food, then that bear suddenly needs to be disappeared), and then there's the way she's sitting, legs swinging back and forth, skirt revealing a lot of skin. Almost imprudent. And Amagi Yukiko is _never_ imprudent. 

“Why is there a table in the middle of a _cavern_?” Rise says, trying to divert her attention from her previous thought. Because Yukiko's face is half obscured by-- 

“It's a remnant, you see. My father's family was quite... paranoid, to put it mildly.” 

\--shadows. And it's creepier than all the shades she saw in the halls; 

(because shadows merely feed on your worst fear and nightmares, Souji once said, but Shadows are you. _You._ ) 

more solid, more tangible. 

Rise tries to keep her tone light. “They were paranoid, so they put a table here? Well, I guess they were afraid they wouldn't have anywhere to eat dinner on. Ha. Ha.” ...and behold, Kujikawa Rise wins the Dumbest Joke of the Year award! She expects Yukiko to give one of her hyena laughs (because her standard of humour is really bellow nonexistent), but Yukiko merely stares at her, fingers absentmindedly trailing aimlessly on the table. Rise doesn't like her smirk, or her... there's something weird with her eyes. But the shadows, the shadows, it obscures and-- “...sempai?” 

“I talked to Chie, you know. Yesterday. You know what she said?” 

“...what?” Rise decides she really, really doesn't like Yukiko's smirk. And worse now, because the smirk is turning into an almost maniacal grin. 

“That she doesn't want to hurt my feeling, can you _believe_ that?” Yukiko tilts her head up and giggles, then raises the pitch of her voice. “Oh Yukiko, I never meant to, it's just that I don't want to hurt you by saying I'm going out with Souji but I love you too like a best friend so can we still be friends?” She stops and stares at Rise – who can't help but avert her gaze and stares at her lap instead. Then with her normal voice Yukiko says: “what a fucking joke. Don't you agree, _Risette_?” 

Risette? Risette? That bitch has been wasting Rise's time by ranting about Chie Chie Chie oh Chie that cunt Chie and then she calls her _Risette?_ She grits her teeth and matches Yukiko's stare. “You know I _fucking hate that name_.” 

Yukiko looks like she's taken aback, as if she was somewhere else and it wasn't quite real. She appears flustered, smoothing her skirt and keeping her legs primly pressed against each other like some pathetic heiress who didn't even realise her girlfriend's a whore. Pathetic. “Kujikawa-san I-- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to--” 

“Oh yes you did.” Rise stands and moves closer to her. “You meant everything you said. Everything.” 

Yukiko tries to draw back, but she's sitting on the table and there's no way to do that, not without scrambling on top of it. But she's a prim lady, remember? Oh, Yukiko will never do that. Not _this_ Yukiko.“It's just that I'm, I'm stressed out because Chie, Chie, she...” 

“Betrayed you? You forget,” Rise says, moving closer and closer until her face is close enough to see her own reflection in Yukiko's eyes. There's shadows over her face, so similar to Yukiko's just a moment ago. The shadows and the same glow in her eyes. She places her hands on the table so that Yukiko is sitting between them. Why does she look so terrified? Rise is just Rise, after all. There's nothing to fear, none at all. She cups Yukiko's chin and lowers her voice. “You forget that your _slut_ was the one who tempted my boyfriend.” 

“Kujikawa-san, please... stop this.” 

Yukiko tilts her head to avoid her, but Rise jerks it back by the chin. “ _Look at me when I'm speaking to you._ And stop what, sempai? Stop what?” 

Yukiko's lips are trembling. “This. Please.” 

“Why?” 

“Because I...” 

“Can't even say that, can you? Run then. Run away like you always do. It's your only talent, after all.” 

It elicits a response, Rise notes with satisfaction as Yukiko glares at her. “It's not! Don't ever say that again.” But then she returns back into her timid self and says meekly, “it's not. I'm not... I'm not running away.” 

“Oh? Prove it, then.” 

“...how?” 

“Help me erase our suffering,” Rise says. And kisses her on the lips. She smiles and pushes Yukiko down onto the table. She doesn't even resist. So typical of her, running away from everything. But Rise won't let her run. Not this time. Not when she's such an important pawn. She wants Yukiko with the beautiful yellow eyes, not this pathetic weakling. 

_The fog is getting thicker_ , Kanzeon says. 

__

Yeah, like she even cares. Like she doesn't care about the rust coloured stains on the surface of table. Just another minor detail unworthy of her time. 

She unbuttons Yukiko's blouse and sucks on her neck. There's probably going to be hickeys, but Yukiko doesn't seem to care; not with her subdued moans. She doesn't seem to care, even when Rise slides her skirt down and pushes her hand between her legs, her mouth trailing down, down, down. 

* * *

_Ways to Break Yuki-sempai:_

__

_-feed lies about tomboy whore and fucking bastard. lots of lies_

_-manipulate pics? might need net buddy for this <\- does he smell bad?_

_-handcuffs_

_-rape? drastic meashersure only_

_-mindfuck! like evangelion maybe <-Gendo's hot_

_-buy ing. 4 ganmodoki_

_-also easy recipe books_

_-stationery 4 new school yr_

_-dust grandma's storeroom_

_-lol decline yosuke's d8 thing_

Rise sighs and rips the page out of her notebook. How did it end up as a to-do list, anyway? And the stuff about Yukiko, that's just plain stupid. Maybe she should stop going on 2chan. And she really, really needs to work on her spelling.  
  
About Yukiko-sempai, it seems like she'll just have to take it slowly. After all, she's already pretty happy seeing the improvement when they were in the bomb shelter – albeit how brief it was before Yukiko snaps back into her usual self. The fog's thickening, and there's still plenty of time to spare.  
  
She looks at Yukiko's sleeping figure – briefly taking the spill of her hair against Rise's pillow –noting the iridescent glimmer where the sun's ray hits it. Somehow, she doesn't feel as jealous of her beauty; almost fond, even. Well, they're in this together and Yukiko's going to be very useful, very soon. She slips the blanket off, pulls on her over-sized shirt and heads to the kitchen to fire up the toaster. After last night, Yukiko will wake up ravenous, and Rise hates to see someone starving when there's enough tofu in her house to feed a small army. And maybe tofu sandwich might just prove to be her best invention yet.  
  
...or maybe she'll just prepare instant noodles instead. 

* * *

Kanzeon sees things in colours. Detects the emotion behind a person, their inherent personality. Most of the time it's pretty obvious anyway, but Kanzeon gives it depth. Gives it meaning below the superficial colour of costumes. 

She knows that Chie is lush green, and it reminds Rise of rolling meadows and new sprouts in the ground. It symbolises life and vigour, but it is also envious and jealous. 

Opposite of her is blue, the colour that surrounds Naoto. But it changes between the tranquillity of a lake and a sea with impending storm. It's pure. Trustworthy and dependable, calming. But so cold, so depressed. 

...and so on. They're the only ones that matter now. The rest is not yet important. But get the gist: there are always two sides of the same coin. It's the same as all the face thyself and accept thy weakness thing: they're all just a crap load of bullshit. Sure, they'll probably accept it for a while, but it takes only the slightest trigger to re-do all the damage. Persona are just facades, and facades shift alongside their the owners. Two sides of the same coin, see? The ability to act is far more useful for its consistency. 

Yukiko is different. She's the only one that changes over time. Rise has watched as Kanzeon observes the shifting colours: light pink at first, Sakuya's colour. The colour of infatuation. And for a while it turned red, red as her vest. The colour of the sun, of boldness and love. But it's turning darker and darker and time goes on: rose madder; then rosso corsa; then venetian red; carmine; burgundy. 

Rise loves watching the changes so much. And that's why they're here on a fine Saturday evening, nonchalantly sharing a pack of dried squid as they take in the sight of various stores and rows of cafes lining the street. 

“Sorry, I'm a bit tired, can we stop here?” Rise says, pointing at a cafe with a particular cute name. 

Yukiko looks at the sign doubtfully. “Lovely Cha-cha Purin? Uh.” 

“Oh come on, don't be so picky. I heard they make the best lattes here anyway.” Dragging Yukiko by the elbow, Rise opens the door, takes in the sight and... oh crap. A maid cafe, out of all things. Well, at least it's empty. 

“Are you sure--” 

“Good espressos!” 

“I thought it was lattes?” 

“And puddings. Hey.” Rise gestures at one of the maids and points to the seat by the window overlooking the street. “Can we get that one?” 

“Certainly.” Well, at least they don't use that master crap. “Wait, are you Ri--” 

“Wrong person. So Yukiko-sempai, what are you ordering?” 

Yukiko – who is already sitting snugly after folding her coat over her chair – looks at the menu disbelievingly. “Five hundred yen for an hour with our maids? Six hundred yen for _orange juice?_ ” 

The maid (who looks like she's about thirty years old) smiles with practised guilt. “Yes, it's part of-- um. Is there something wrong?” 

Thoroughly impatient, Rise makes a lot of noise by dragging her chair backwards. “Nothing. Two coffees. Now.” Time's running out, and she's not going to let some unprofessional, nosy old maids ruin the moment. At least they haven't called her onii-chan <3 or make her do one of those cute cat poses thing with ridiculous phrases. She checks her watch. Twenty minutes to go. But first. The dried squid. 

Pity Yukiko isn't quite so dumb, even if she almost finishes the squid before Rise takes the pack back from her. Yukiko looks almost sad from the loss of the snack, but says anyway: “Is there anything you're not telling me, Kujikawa-san?” 

“Oh noo. No.” Rise glares at the maid who brings the coffee as the idiot tries to ask if she wants anything else. Smiling smugly, Rise watches the maid scuttle away and turns her attention back towards Yukiko. “Why so suspicious, sempai? I just wanted a change of scenery, that's all.” 

“Well,” Yukiko says as she stirs her coffee and takes sip out of it. “It's hard to trust you again, after... the event.” 

“And yet, here you are.” 

She folds her hands onto her lap and smiles sadly at Rise. “Yes. Here I am.” 

And then they were silent. It's the silence that hovers between awkward and comfortable. They're happy to let each other mire in the privacy of their thoughts, but there are still small talks that are not quite stilted. 

Fifteen minutes later the coffee is finished and Rise's watch shows 6:25. She places two one thousand yen bills on the table and grabs her coat from the chair. “Come on sempai, we've been here long enough. Let's take a walk.” Because Souji always brings his current favourite here at six thirty on Saturdays, like a finely tuned clockwork. She has no doubt whom he's bringing today. It's just so simple. 

Simple enough it only entails wandering aimlessly until her shows up with his bitch dangling at his arms. 

6:29. Yukiko is watching display windows absently, but Rise is on full alert. Any time now. 

“Sempai. Sempai.” Yukiko is still distracted, so Rise snatches her by the coat and points north. “Look. It's Souji-sempai and Chie-sempai.” 

A finely tuned clockwork indeed. She's been playing this scenario over and over in her mind. It's so perfect, down to Yukiko's sudden halt and her trembling hands. 

“We should. We should go back--” Yukiko starts, but Rise has already linked her arm, pinning Yukiko's with her own. 

“Let's talk to them!” 

“Kujikawa-san...” 

“Oh come on, they're happy together. Shouldn't we congratulate them or something?” Without waiting for a response, Rise waves towards the figure. “Heeey, Souji-sempai Chie-sempai!” 

They look uncomfortable. Well, Chie looks uncomfortable; Souji merely looks like he's thinking about dinner. There's a high chance of dinner being that Shirogane bitch. Two girls one guy. Haha. Funny. But why is Yukiko so heavy? It takes almost all of Rise's strength to foil Yukiko's attempted escape, but she finally manages to drag her closer towards the happy couple. 

“Oh hi. Rise... Yukiko. Didn't see you guys. Um. Souji and I were just... y'know hanging out.” Chie is shifting from foot to foot, looking like she's going to bolt anytime soon. Why are they both so similar? No wonder Chie and Yukiko spent most of their childhood trying to run away from Inaba. “So, um. How are you, Yukiko?” Chie says, but she's looking at Rise, as if looking directly at Yukiko might burn her eyes. 

Rise doesn't blame her. Amaterasu _is_ the sun, after all. 

Rise tightens her hold. She is afraid that Yukiko might run away in the literal sense, because if she does, then there's no way she can stop her. Not with Rise's small stature. But despite her fear, Yukiko's hands have stopped trembling. Rise looks up, sees her expression, and relents when Yukiko firmly pries her off. It takes all her will to not drag Yukiko into the nearest bathroom. This Yukiko is just _so beautiful._

“I'm fine, Chie. Perfectly fine. How is your relationship with Seta-kun?” 

There is no hint of emotion behind Yukiko's words, but Chie looks surprised, as if not believing the ex-girlfriend she cheated on has recovered so splendidly in mere days. “Uh, well, we're-- we're pretty okay. I suppose. Just. Y'know, chilling. And stuff.” 

“Are you happy?” 

Chie is subtly pulling Souji's coat. She's probably not even aware she's doing it. “I... I suppose? Uh. Sorry to cut this short, but we... gotta get going, right Seta-kun?” 

Souji nods in reply, not even glancing at Rise. Smug, smug jerk. See how smug he is when she's done with him. 

“Alright then, sorry to take up your time.” Yukiko smiles and does a little wave. “Good bye. Enjoy your date, Chie.” 

“Will do. I mean, thanks. Look. Call me, alright?” 

And then they are gone. Rise understands Chie's unease, her desire to escape as soon as possible. Because she would probably do the same too, if Yukiko's smile was directed at her. But they're allies, and probably take turns in mutually creeping the hell out of each other. So there's nothing to fear, with their shadows (Shadows?) resonating in perfect unison. 

“Kujikawa-san. Tomorrow,” Yukiko says, with the eyes Rise loves so much. 

The red has turned so dark it's almost brown. Maroon: the colour of rust and deterioration. The colour of deoxygenated blood. 

And as Yukiko lays out her plan almost casually, Rise realizes that it's also the colour of anger and a severe case of batshit insanity. 

She glances at the distant figure of Chie and Souji, then says: “Okay.” 


	3. Chie

**Chie: Day One**

They fucked again on the table. 

(But not before Rise spent a long time scrubbing it clean from the stains. “What's this?” she had asked, and Yukiko merely replied disinterestedly about paranoid ancestors and sharp implements or some sort. After that Rise decided it's just unhygienic and brought an entire supply of cleaning agents with her.) 

The metal's hard and cold against her back, but she likes it that way. And there were handcuffs, too. On her. Because apparently Yukiko has a pretty kinky dominant side under that demure countenance. Gotta thank Chie for breaking her in. Chie did all the hard work while Rise simply enjoys the ripe fruit. Guess Chie can be more useful than simply being Souji's whore of the day. 

And that's why they're sitting around like this, bathed in post-coital boredom when Yukiko asks to borrow Rise's nail file. “Sure,” Rise says, tossing it to her. “Didn't know you're the type that cares about your nails, though.” 

“I'm not. But it's already quite long, and I'm thinking it's easier if it's short.” 

Rise frowns at the sight of Yukiko's intense concentration in grinding her nails down. “Easier for what?” 

“The mess.” Yukiko examines the back of her nail, and apparently satisfied, places the file gently beside her. “I don't want it getting under my nails.” 

Rise's mind clicks. “Oooh. Good idea. Your plan covers everything down to the details, huh. I'm proud of ya, sempai.” 

“Well, not really,” Yukiko says, almost modest. But she's smirking.“I still don't know what I'll do, I guess we'll just have to improvise.” 

“Huh. Okay.” 

“She's a bit late. Are you sure you've sent it?” 

“Of course I'm sure. Look.” Rise motions Yukiko over, and waits until she's beside her before showing the sent inbox on her phone. It shows: _omg omg Chiesempai help Yukikosempai broke her leg @bombshelter back of inn plz come asap D: D: < orz_

“See?” 

Yukiko stares at the screen, then at Rise. “Um. Broke my leg?” 

“Okay. I admit that maybe it's a little bit dramatic,” Rise says sheepishly. “And maybe the emoticon is a little bit of an overkill. But hey, anything to get her here, right. But, sempai?” 

“Yes?” 

“Are you sure you want to do this? Because...” Because Rise doesn't want Yukiko to chicken out at the last moment. Doesn't want to have to subdue both of them should she decide that love triumphs hate. If that happens, there's no way Rise can overpower both of them. So she has to make sure. Otherwise damn, her life's going to end up in the gutter. Maybe literally. Or spend the rest of her days being raped in jail by big burly dykes. “I don't want you to, y'know, back away--” 

Yukiko looks at her in the eye for the longest time, and when Rise thinks she can't stand it anymore, Yukiko takes the file and starts on her nails again. “I won't.” 

“Okay.” And maybe Rise shouldn't have given her the nail file, because it looks strangely ominous in Yukiko's hands. Well, with what they're going to do, the more ominous the better. Damn, that steak idiot is taking a looong time. Oh, right. The camcorder. She needs to set it up. Where's that stupid tripod? 

Just as Rise finishes mounting the camcorder, there is the sound of a slam and the creak of a really big, really rusty door being pushed open. Well, there she is. She points the camera towards the table. “Sit there, sempai. And try to look at least a little bit distressed, please?” Yukiko gives her best approximation of a distressed damsel. Which is not a too good, judging by the ridiculous amount of contortion in her facial muscles. She definitely needs some acting classes. “A liiitle bit more?” 

Her face morphs into a look similar to Yosuke's once when he had to go back and forth to the toilet every five minutes. “Like this?” 

Rise gives up. “...yeah. Like that. But maybe a bit more--” her intended advice is interrupt by a cacophony of sounds from the tunnel. "Ah, there she is." 

“YUKIKOOOO! ANSWER ME, WHERE ARE YOOOOOU?” Chie's shout echoes through the chamber, and suddenly there's the sound of a loud thud and an ouch what the hell, and everything is silent again. 

Yukiko looks at Rise. “Did you set the lantern at the entrance?” 

“Oooh. That. Sorry, I forgot. Don't worry, there's just one way. She'll reach here. You brought the duct tape?” 

“Yes. It's right here.” Yukiko reaches into her backpack and procures an assortment of items. 

“Where did you get all of those?” Rise says as she takes a peek. Yukiko's preparation is quite impressive compared to Rise's, which consists of only the camcorder, her notebook, an mp3 player, a few bottles of water and some dried squid. 

“From a storage at the inn. Can you drag that chair over here? And why the camcorder?” 

“Just thought I'd document everything. For reference.” Rise drags the aforementioned chair and places directly in front of the camcorder, a few metres apart. There's another thud behind them and more cursing. Still far away, judging from the weak echo. “So hey, still going to improvise?” 

The thuds are getting closer. “No. I think I have a few ideas. We should get ready.” 

“Well, what do you want me to do? Stand around looking pretty?” Rise sighs when she sees Yukiko looking lost. “That was a joke, sempai.” 

Yukiko blinks. “Um. Okay. I think you'll know what to do once I begin-- there she is.” 

A moment later Chie emerges, panting and sweaty, but she immediately rushes towards Yukiko – completely ignoring Rise. God, everyone seems intent on ignoring her these past few days. But Rise is okay with it. She watches as Chie kneels in front of Yukiko and examines her legs. 

“Yukiko, are you all right? I just received a message from Rise and-- wait, your legs look fine...” Chie looks at Yukiko, then at Rise in apparent confusion. “But she said you broke your leg?” 

“Oh no, I think Kujikawa-san was just overreacting.” Yukiko says, smiling. Then she jumps off the table and embraces Chie in a hug. “Thank you for coming, Chie. I'm just glad you still care about me enough to rush here.” 

“Of course, you're my--” 

“Ex-girlfriend? Come.” Yukiko takes Chie by the hand, leads her towards the chair and pushes her down gently onto it. Then she circles it so that she's standing behind Chie. She kisses her on the head, lightly brushing her hair in gentle strokes. Rise notices that Yukiko is carrying the handcuffs with her. Suddenly she knows what she's supposed to do, so she grabs the duct tape and moves closer to the two love birds. Well, one of the birds is going to have her wings broken, of course. So it's probably a really bad metaphor in her part. 

And one of the birds is also looking very disconcerted. 

Chie is trying to turn her neck to look at Yukiko. “Yukiko?” 

“Does Seta-kun know you're here?” Yukiko says, still stroking Chie's hair, but now she's kissing her neck. 

“No, I didn't have a chance to tell him. I came here as soon as I received the message.” 

“Well, that's good.” And then there's a click. The handcuffs are firmly in place. 

Chie looks alarmed at the sudden development. “Yukiko, what--” 

“Shh. Be still, Chie. I just want you... to just be silent for a moment.” 

That's probably Rise's signal, so she moves in and swiftly secures Chie's legs onto the chair with the duct tape. Good girl. Probably too surprised to struggle. Or to speak – judging by her slack jaws and wide eyes. “I think it's good enough,” Rise says. “Double reinforced it and all.” 

“Thank you,” Yukiko says. She circles around again and faces Chie, absently flicking the nail filer between her fingers. 

“Yukiko why are you--” 

“I told you to shut up, didn't I? Besides, you probably know the answer.” 

“I don't so please... stop this.” Chie is struggling with the restraint, causing the chair to rock precariously back and forth as it threatens to topple. Maybe Rise should have taped the chair to the floor, too. So she does, weaving it round and round trying to make it stick on the dusty surface. She almost broke her nose when the chair nearly fell, but luckily Yukiko was there to catch it. Just another occupational hazard. “Rise, Rise. Make Yukiko stop, please. I'm sorry for whatever I've done, please just release me. Please.” 

Rise doesn't understand why Chie is begging the person who has just tied her up. But okay. Maybe being restrained onto a chair can make people irrational. “Sorry, no can do,” she says. “Yukiko-sempai wouldn't want that. Heck, neither would I. You're so cruel, being so insensitive to our feelings.” 

“I don't understand. I've never...” Chie looks pleadingly at Yukiko. “Yukiko... what does she mean?” 

Yukiko looks like she's considering it seriously. Maybe she doesn't need acting classes, after all. “Hmm. Let me think. How about about dumping me for Seta-kun? Or cheating behind my back?” 

Rise grins and chimes in cheerfully. “And hey, fucking my boyfriend also counts. Or spending Christmas Eve with him while I end up sitting under a tree eating a tofu. It gets boring, doing that.” 

“I-- this is about me and Souji?” Chie looks genuinely surprised. “Yukiko, I never meant-- meant to cheat on you. Or cheat with Souji. I didn't know he's with Rise. I really didn't he never said anything about it. I swear. I swear I loved you Yukiko but then Souji came along and I. I fell-- but I still love you -- we're best friends right? Best friends.” 

Really, take it for that blockhead to be so stupidly ignorant. 

Yukiko giggles. “Of course we still are, Chie. And we'll always be. Now...” She takes a handkerchief out of her pocket and stuffs it into Chie's mouth. “Well, her babbling is getting incoherent.” 

Agreed. Thank god for that, Rise feels like punching Chie whenever she opens her mouth. That stupid pleading and those stupid puppy eyes. “So, you wanna go first?” 

“Thank you for the offer, but I think you should,” Yukiko says politely, smoothing her skirt. 

“No no. You're the one who's got it all planned anyway. I'll wait for my turn, kay?” 

Yukiko smiles at her. “If you insist... Where should I start? Have you any suggestions?” 

“Her eyes?” Stupid puppy eyes. Yeah. “Do you want me to bring one of the knives or a scalpel, maybe?” 

“No. I think this will... suffice.” Yukiko approaches Chie and places the nail file she's been holding under Chie's right eye, poking the lower lid. “This is my pain, Chie. My pain when you told me that you've been going out with Seta-kun. My pain when you kissed him while I watched. My pain from your betrayal.” Then without further ado, she casually rams it into Chie's eye. 

“Sempai don't!” Rise shouts in alarm, “you'll kill her if--” 

“Don't worry; it's not too deep.” 

Rise is about to say more, but Yukiko suddenly pulls the gag out. And of course, Chie's screaming gloriously. “God sempai! Did you have to do that?!” Rise says, covering her ears to save her eardrums. How many decibels is _that_? 

“Sorry, I thought it will be better if I can hear her scream.” 

“Great, just hope my ears don't bleed out _._ Are you gonna stab the other eye or what?” 

“No. I think it's better if she can still see. For a while, at least.” 

“Okay.” And Rise goes over to find her mp3 player. Thanks higher deities, for having me bring my player, Rise thinks, but then she realises that the aforementioned deities are currently residing inside each one of them. She can't help but laugh. Then she plugs the (sound insulating) buds in and watches as Yukiko ponders her next course of action. Chie's lips are moving. Probably pleading again, and Yukiko appears like she's saying something. Rise has no doubt that the conversation is pretty one-sided. “Whoa, leave her hands to me, sempai,” Rise says when she sees Yukiko grabbing Chie's arm. She's not sure if Yukiko heard her, but she must have because she stops yanking on the arm. 

God. This song is so depressing. Rise presses next until there's a sufficiently upbeat R &B playing. Better. She's curious about Yukiko's next action, because the red-clad girl just took a very sharp looking knife, pried Chie's mouth open and... slices a significant portion of her tongue off. Ouch. Judging that it's safe enough, Rise takes off the earphones and raises an eyebrow. The blubbery sound Chie's making is pretty disturbing, but it's still miles better than the previous banshee screaming. She gives Yukiko an approving thumbs up. 

“Thank you. You're right; it was pretty annoying,” Yukiko says, almost apologetically. Then she inserts the nail file into the eye she stabbed and moves it around in a circular motion. Now Chie's face is covered with aqueous liquid from her cornea and a lot of blood. Yukiko yanks Chie's head down, patting it to prevent her from choking on the blood. 

Wow, it looks exactly like the slasher movies she likes to watch when she's bored. But more real. And who knows the stench of blood can be so overpowering? Still, she has her concerns. “Won't she die from all that bleeding?” 

Yukiko hesitates, as if she has never considered it. “...I don't think so. The human body has five litres of blood in average – and she's not bleeding too much. I think. But I've prepared some ice, just in case. Can you get the cooler?” 

“Okay.” Rise carries it back and opens the lid. “You're _really_ well prepared. So, what do we do now?” 

“Well, to be honest, I'm really not sure.” 

They stare at the gagging and moaning Chie for a while. Then she says: “Let's just jam it in.” And she does so, forcefully inserting some ice into Chie's mouth, and a block in her eye. Okay. Maybe that's not a good idea. But mutilation isn't a good idea in the first place anyway. For morally sound people, that is. So hey why not. “Ugh, it's falling out. I think we should blindfold her, at least. Maybe that will even help it from becoming infected.” 

“Alright. And I brought some antibiotics.” 

“Great. I'll blindfold her while you give those to her.” 

They go right to their tasks. The blindfold is easy, but Yukiko has to attempt her part a few times before she manages to get Chie to swallow by inserting the pills deep into her mouth and massaging her throat. After that she yanks Chie's head back by the hair and forces her to swallow mouthfuls of water. 

“Done. Do you want to have a go now, Kujikawa-san?” 

Rise glances at her watch, then shakes her head. “Sorry, I'll have to run back. Gotta help grandma prepare for tomorrow. Let's continue this next time?” 

“Alright. Just let me change into my spare clothes, then we'll go back.” 

* * *

**Chie: Day Two**

Rise decides that today she's going to be more prepared. She doesn't feel too good letting Yukiko do all the work, what with slugging that heavy cooler back and forth and all. But she's missing a couple of tools. Pliers. Nails... a hammer, maybe. More duct tapes. What else? Well, she'll think of it once she procures the first few items. 

“Oh hey,” Kanji says after she has knocked a few times. “What's up?” 

She beams at him. “I wonder if you have a hammer and pliers? And maybe some nails would be nice. And a power drill.” 

"Not sure but..." Kanji scratches the back of his neck and looks upwards. After a while he crosses his arms and nods. “Yeah. Think we have some in the shed. What're those for?” 

“Oh, just gotta do a few reparations for grandma. She needs her shelf fixed.” 

“You sure you can--” 

“Yep. Watched all the videos on YouTube and all.” 

He looks at her doubtfully, but then disappears inside with an intelligible mumble. It sounded suspiciously like yeah right what's with people and YouTube and do it yourself nowadays? But she lets it slide. Poor Kanji. He shouldn't worry about Rise nailing her finger in an amateurist attempt to put two woods together -- it's not a shelf that she's going to fix, and not her fingers that will be meeting the nails. 

Okay then. What el-- oh right. Maybe a raincoat, too. 

Kanji appears after a few minutes and hands her the tools in a small box. “That all?” 

“Yeah, thanks a lot, Kanji,” she says, grinning. “And by the way, you forgot to zip up your pants.” 

“SHIT!” 

Now the raincoat. 

* * *

She picks up Yukiko at the inn at four sharp. They've agreed on going together, figuring that it's probably dangerous for a lone girl to go off wandering into the woods. Sure, Yukiko is carrying a lot of sharp things and Rise can probably use her hammer to crack some skulls but really, who can unzip bags fast enough to stave off a pervert? Well, Chie probably can, but she's a bit... immobile right now. 

Rise giggles at the thought. 

“Sorry, just remembered something funny,” she says when notices Yukiko's glance. “You're not bringing the cooler?” 

“It's a bit heavy,” Yukiko says as she pushes on the door. “Do you mind carrying the lantern?” 

“Yeah, sure. Where is it?” 

“To your right.” 

“'Kay.” Rise picks it up and leads the way down the hall while Yukiko follows. “What if she bleeds a lot? Gangrene and stuff.” 

“We won't be able to do much about drastic situations, but I've brought some tourniquet at least. I hope you're not going to do anything too drastic.” 

“Nope. Raincoat's just for emergencies.” 

“Raincoat?” 

“For the mess.” 

“Ah.” 

They reach the cavern, and Yukiko sets about lighting the candles while Rise checks on Chie. “She's unconscious. All the better. Sempai? Mind giving me a hand?” Haha. Hand. She congratulates herself for such a clever pun. 

“Just a second.” After lighting a few more candles, Yukiko joins Rise near Chie's bound figure – lingering behind Chie to stroke her shoulder affectionately. Then, enveloping her arms around Chie, Yukiko kisses and nuzzles Chie's hair with her cheek. “What do you have in mind?” she says from their intimate position. And Rise would've awwwhed at the romantic sight if one half of the lover isn't bleeding and missing body parts. Creepy. 

“Getting her up on the table. Help me get rid of the duct tapes. She's probably too weak to struggle even if she wakes up anyway.” With that, Rise hands Yukiko a pair of scissors and uses her own to cut through the tape. It took a while due to her thoroughness the day before, but they managed to cut all of it after more than ten minutes of hard labour. She hoists Chie by the arms and motions Yukiko to go for the legs. Together they drag Chie the few metres towards the table and lifts her motionless body onto it. “Damn she's heavy. Here, bind her wrist on the table, sempai.” 

Yukiko cocks an eyebrow, but she doesn't bother inquiring. It's Rise's turn, after all, and she probably doesn't even care about ex-girlfriend anymore besides the entertainment Chie will provide. Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned / Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned. Whoever said that has just officially became Rise's role model. 

“Is this enough?” Yukiko says finally, moving back to inspect her work. 

“Yeah, that should do.” Rise sticks a few more strips of tape and goes to move the chair out of the way, then adjusts the tripod of her camcorder in order to reach its maximum height. She brings it closer and points it down to have a full view of Chie. Finally she removes her blindfold and starts slapping her cheeks. “She won't wake up.” 

“I'm sure she will. Eventually,” Yukiko says. She drags the chair a bit further back and sits on it. “Do you have everything you need?” 

“Should be. But I'll borrow from you if there's anything I'm missing.” 

Taking the tools out one by one, Rise spends another five minutes lining them perfectly in a line at the free space not occupied by Chie. Maybe it's her obsessive compulsive disorder showing – but they've wasted enough time already. After circling around the table once and making sure Yukiko is watching, she takes her pliers and pulls Chie's fingernails off, one by one. 

Chie, of course, wakes up. But she can't scream or move. The only thing she can do is roll her good eye to stare at the hand Rise is working on. Despite that, the abject pain and horror written all over her face gives Rise enough satisfaction that she slows down and instead of just yanking the nails away, she pulls it out slowly, millimetre by millimetre. Thumb. Index finger. Middle... ring... ugh. The nail on the ring finger didn't come out cleanly, causing half of it to remain embedded. Damn OCD is showing up again, so Rise jams the tip of the pliers into the flesh and digs the nail out. Okay. Moving on. Lucky the pinky is perfect, otherwise she'd go insane and probably just end up cutting off the finger. Boo hoo. 

So. Moving on. Instead of using pliers, Rise decides she will just use her trusty nail file instead. The one Yukiko has used to blind Chie the day before. Because hey, it's the least she can do for Chie. Take it as a memento or something. She turns and looks at Yukiko. “Sempai, you sure you don't want to do this side?” 

Yukiko appears to think about the suggestion, but then she smiles and says: “I don't want to be discourteous. Today is yours, Kujikawa-san.” 

“Right. Thanks.” With that, Rise takes her file and drives it between the nail and the bed. It meets with resistance, so she has to wiggle it back and forth to wedge it deeper until she reaches the nail groove. Then with a quick upward motion, she jerks it off. It doesn't come out quite cleanly, still attached at the base. But then Rise remembers reading that pulling it off will tear it off until the root and stop it from growing back, so she grabs the pliers and once again uses it to pull the remaining nail off. 

Moving on. Using the same steps, she methodically strips each fingers of their nails, leaving the pink flesh exposed. She's surprised that there are only drops of blood instead of the gush they always show in slasher horrors. But reality sucks anyway, and pain always triumphs a lot of bleeding. Always. It also means that she doesn't have any need of the rain coat, so that's okay. Now that it's done... Rise absently presses her hand against Chie's fingers while she plans her next action, applying more pressure with each jerk from Chie. 

Right. Nails. She needs nails. Yep. Haha. Pun again. Right. Where's the hammer? 

As if reading her thought, Yukiko reaches forward and holds the hammer in her outstretched hand. “Oh thanks sempai,” Rise says. She grabs one of the nails and holds the sharp end against the tip of Chie's index finger. It pushes down and nicks the raw flesh slightly. As it happens, Rise realises that she's never done any hammering in her life. Ever. But mistakes make perfect, and it's probably time for her to learn, anyway. 

Deep breath. Deep breath. 

Then without hesitation, she brings the hammer down – nicking the side of the flesh instead of the middle. It took her a few tries and a few fingers before she can strike the centre with any consistency – although she's quite disappointed that instead of puncturing the table, the nails merely bend. So much for nailing nails down. And she's getting tired of the puns, so she decides to smash the finger bones from the second join down with the hammer. It's much, much easier because apparently it requires no skill whatsoever. Boring, she decides after thoroughly reducing the bones to mere fragments. “Do you think she'll die if I cut her fingers off?” 

“I think it's safe to do that. There's no major blood vessels running through them,” Yukiko says. 

“Okay. I'll borrow a knife, then.” 

By then Chie had stopped moving. Rise doesn't even know if she's still breathing. It doesn't matter really, but the not moving part makes things kinda boring. Well. Whatever. Better have fun while it lasts. 

She rummages through Yukiko's bag before finding a sheathed butcher knife. She takes the cover off and holds Chie's hand down with her left, as if she's just helping her grandmother slice off turnips in the kitchen. Once the knife is in position, she starts moving it back and forth, sawing slowly because despite the crushed bones, they're still damn hard to cut off. Back and forth back and forth. Rise wipes off the sweat off her forehead using her sleeve. It looks like she's been doing this forever, but only manages to sever three off – which means that seven still remains, and she's not sure if her stamina permits more than half an hour of constant motion. And she definitely can't risk repetitive motion injury. 

“I think I'm done for today,” she says, throwing the knife haphazardly onto the floor. “I'm getting really tired from all the work.” 

Yukiko blinks. “It's still quite early, though.” 

“It is. But try cutting _that_ for an hour and tell me how you feel.” 

Yukiko laughs and rises from her seat. “Point taken,” she says. “Let's continue tomorrow, then.” 

Rise raises her eyebrow. “No antibiotics this time?” 

“No. I'm afraid she's too far gone for it to help. Can't even remain conscious for more than a minute each time she wakes up.” 

* * *

She notices that there is a large, wet patch of stain on her panties when she strips her clothes off in her bedroom. Confused, she touches herself and finds her fingers coated in clear liquid. 

Alright. So she's that type of person. Why doesn't she find it surprising in the least? 

After completely stripping, she turns her computer on and transfers the recordings from her camcorder. Then she locks the door, plugs her earphones in and starts masturbating. She thinks it's the best orgasm she has had in her life. Ever. 

* * *

**Chie: Day Three**

****

There's really no sentimental bullshit or goodbye Satonaka Chie you've been a good girlfriend/sempai or anything like that. There's barely any conversation going – each of them focused in their own thoughts. 

“I'm going to cut her cheeks open. I've always wanted to see what an ear to ear grin looks like,” Rise says. 

Yukiko hands her a scalpel without even looking, busy with finishing Rise's butchered job yesterday. “Just don't cut too deep,” she says as she moves the knife over Chie's fingers jerkily. Rise notes with satisfaction that Yukiko looks even more strained than she did. Ha! 

Well. Anyway. The scalpel Rise took from Yukiko hovers uncertainly over a cheek. For some reason she feels unnerved. Must be 

Yukiko grabs her wrist before Rise can drive it into Chie's eye. “Let me,” she says, prying it off gently. She raises her free hand up high and brings it down with such force Rise ends up cringing. “Wake up, Chie,” Yukiko says calmly. “Please look at me. Just for the last time.” There's a disgusting, blubbering sound from Chie – as if she's underwater and can't quite vocalise her words. Blubbery, disgusting, and so so satisfying. Rise watches as her opens and shuts her mouth, sometimes with the stub of her tongue lolling out. It reminds her of a panting dog, and Yukiko's stroking her hair just like she's one. Yukiko leans close to Chie's ear, lips brushing against it. “I hope you're satisfied with me. I'm so pretty, after all. You said so. I'm sure I'm more pleasant looking than Seta-kun.” Chie's eye is rolling back and forth – probably from delirium. “Thank you, Chie, for at least attempting to be my prince. But there is no mercy for cheating princes. I'm just... claiming you back. Yes. Enjoy, Chie. I love you. Always.” 

Instead of ramming it into her eye like she did before, this time Yukiko cuts off her eyelids, then inserts the scalpel into the sockets and moves it around. Maybe she's trying to cut the eyeballs off. But apparently she's failing because she just ends up ruining it into a mess with a lot of liquid and blood pooling around it. Regardless, she tries to scoop it out, only to find a mess in her hand. Yukiko looks so dejected Rise can't help but pat her on the back. “It's okay sempai, it's your first time, after all.” When she continues looking like a puppy that has been kicked, Rise sighs and extends her hand. “Well, can I get the scalpel back?” 

Yukiko wordlessly hands it to her, then she goes back into staring at Chie's severed eyelids she's rolling between her thumb and index finger. Rise understands her sentiments all too clearly – she'd react the same if she were to botch an important job. But instead of sitting around like that, she'd probably just grab a baseball bat and botch the job even more effectively. All or nothing. That's her motto and it's working perfectly fine ever since she adopted it. 

So. Where was she-- right. A wide grin. How much should she cut? Is there any major artery there? Hmm. Gotta read one of those anatomy books. Kinda reminds her of squid, actually. Maybe she should have a pack after. 

“Oh, stop that moaning, Chie-sempai. It's annoying. Just because you lost your eyes and some fingers. Stop being such a pu-- oh wait, you are. Hell, even if you aren't, Souji will still screw you anyway.” Rise giggles, then promptly remembers her last train of thought. Right. Dried squid. She pulls one from her backpack and slices it open with the scalpel. Junes kinda sucks, but at least their generic snacks are good. And Chie-sempai might want one too. She takes a few strips and forces it into Chie's mouth. Well. Okay. It just reaffirms her belief that people with a cut tongue can't swallow. Or maybe they can and Chie's just being stubborn. She pulls the squid out of Chie's mouth and tosses it away. 

Right. Right. Grin. Wide, toothy, ear to ear grin. “Want one?” she says, offering Yukiko the packet. 

“No thanks. I just ate lunch.” 

“Okay.” _Damnit_. Why are her thoughts getting sidetracked _so much?_ It's all the bitch's fault, her and her fucking bastard and the squid the squid the 

Nonono. What's wrong with her? Why is she-- 

(not Macbeth, _for fuck's sake)_

Why is she so. She can't focus. Grin. Grin. Cheek to cheek. Ready the scalpel. 

And then she slices Chie's left cheek. At first hesitatingly, making a few jagged cuts before steadying her hand and slices it cleanly from the edge of the lips all the way towards the ear. And then she does the same to the other side. She can't help but laugh when she looks at the wide grin. Chie looks so _happy_. Was that how she looked like when she was dangling off Souji's arm? When she spent Christmas exchanging presents, moaning his name as she mounted him? Is that how _Rise_ looks when she thinks of Souji? When she said she loves him over and over? The toothy, ear to ear, utterly ecstatic grin. 

But 

But. Did it 

(her heart) 

bleed so much? The blood running down and pooling, pooling and-- “Oh god I didn't mean to, I didn't mean to sempai! I swear I-- she's--!” She screaming and apologising, but she's not sure if she's directing it at Yukiko or Chie or both or herself or no one at all. And 

And there are arms encircling her. “It's okay. It's okay. I know you didn't mean to.” Yukiko is whispering into her ear. No doubt trying to soothe her, like Rise has no doubt that there are smears of Chie's eyes and her blood all over her clothes now. She once read that characters in novels get so insane you can't differentiate between a lamp post and a corpse or the turn of a road and the psychedelic sky and the purple... pig? Star? But she can. She's seeing everything clearly, so she's not insane. She's not. Not from this. She still has things to do; she can't start losing her mind just over something so tame. 

She takes a deep breath, lets it out slowly. “I'm okay, sempai. Sorry, I was just freaking out because... she's bleeding so much.” 

Yukiko is no longer behind her. She moves forward to see the body in all its broken glory (hey, that rhymes!). 

“She's dying,” Yukiko says as if she's commenting about the weather. How can she be so cruel and callous? So dismissive, as if Chie is just a memory of something far away instead of a person who used to cry, smile, laugh with them. How can Yukiko be so cruel? 

But then Rise reminds herself that this is the person who was fucking her boyfriend. And suddenly everything is alright again. “I'm surprised she didn't die from shock sooner,” she says, already forgetting the last few minutes, “she's surprisingly resilient.” 

Yukiko smiles in fond remembrance. “That's Chie for you. Always so strong.” 

“She was.” Why does it feel so right using the past tense when Chie is still there, still alive and warm to the touch. But only barely. It doesn't matter. Why switch to present tense when it will soon change again anyway? “So. What do we do once she dies?” In fact, she doesn't even know if she's still alive, lying there all motionless with barely any movement in the chest and all. Maybe she's dead. They stand around for a while, contemplating the problem she brought up. They haven't really thought about it-- just concentrated on the whole let's-extract-revenge-on-cheating-bitches thing. Cheating? ...Yes. Souji deserves more than this. “Do we cut it up and maybe bury or burn it or something?” 

“Hmm...” Yukiko says, then brightens up. “Oh, right. I remember there's a storage room somewhere in the back, for emergency rations. We can put her there, I think. The door is well sealed, so the scent shouldn't be too apparent.” 

Wow. Talk about paranoid. “Okay. Let's drag it there.” 

It. Not she. Haha. It's too funny, referring to an ex-person as it. But guess she's nothing more than meat now. Oh, she's dead. She's dead. Right. Onwards to the duct tapes. _Again_. Rise sighs as she proceeds to cut the restraints off. Then, each of them pulling a hand, they managed to drag the body across the cavern. 

She wonders why she hasn't seen this particular door before – perhaps because it's so well camouflaged there's almost nothing to distinguish it from the walls except for the protruding handle. And the dim lighting probably doesn't help in seeing what lurks around the corners. Kinda like the horror game she's playing with dead bodies piling up in rooms and cellars and dropping down like fucking avalanches. Maybe her entire life has turned into a big slasher movie fest. It's a nice genre – she doesn't terribly mind. 

“Sempai!” She lets out a yelp when she finds herself staggering due to Yukiko's abrupt release of the dead hand she was holding to pull open the door. But in mere seconds Yukiko's back again, and – without even breaking a sweat – they pulled the body through the door. It's well stocked indeed, with various canned food and gallons of what she presumes to be water lining up the wall. There's also meat hooks too, for some unknown reason (or maybe... it's more than paranoia). Quite spacious, too. Almost as big as her living room. “We just stash her here?” 

“That's the general idea, yes,” Yukiko says. 

“Okay.” Then she hesitates. “Hey sempai? What do you think about this whole thing? The whole torturing and killing?” 

“Nothing. I'm just glad that I'm the last person she saw. It's only fitting.” 

She can sympathise with it: the crazed obsession and jealousy. It was all fun and giggles up until Chie bled to death, then suddenly it's as if a pit opened up in her stomach. But it's not guilt. Not supposed to be. Won't let it happen. It's not and it's still fun and giggles. “Fun... and giggles...” 

“What?” 

“Oh, nothing. Just talking to myself.” And Souji really, really deserves more. “Sempai? Do you mind if you leave first? There's something I need to do here, I think. And please leave one of the knives. I'll return it to you, I promise.” 

“...Alright.” There's confusion in Yukiko's eyes, but like the considerate women she's raised to be, she says nothing else and exits. There's a lot of clanging and then she's back, placing a serrated knife on the floor. “Be careful,” she says, and walks away. 

She probably knows what Rise will do, or at least hazard a vague guess. But in any case, it's not like Yukiko cares any more for the thing in front of her. It's just. Well. It's just something dead. That's all it is. 

* * *

She removes the contents from the plastic bag into secure ziploc bags and places them inside the freezer. “Grandma! I'm placing my food in the freezer so don't eat it okay? Also, I'm going to Junes!” 

She hears her grandma's shout somewhere from the back of the house. “Don't worry and watch out for bad people, Rise-chan!” 

"Will do!" 

Okay. Junes. Don't forget the wallet – why is Kanzeon not reminding her? And yeah. Soak the bag in warm water inside the bath tub. Lock the door. And remember to buy more dried squid. 

* * *

_Chie Bourguignon:_

__

_Meat mixture:_

__1/2 to 1 lb. bacon, cut into strips 1/4 x 1 1/2 inch long  
1 tbsp. olive oil   
3-5 lbs. __lean Chie meat steak, cut in 2-inch cubes  
2-3 sliced carrots   
2 sm. onions, cut into ringlets   
1 tsp. salt   
1/4 tsp. pepper   
2 tbsp. flour 

__

_1\. Cook bacon until crispy. Add olive oil._

_2\. Remove bacon. Saute meat in hot oil._

_3\. Remove meat. Saute carrots, onions in same fat._

_4\. Add vegetables to mixture. Throw out remaining fat._

_5\. Sprinkle meat mixture with flour and seasonings._

_6\. Put in uncovered casserole dish, bake for 4 minutes at 450 degrees. Mix._

_7\. Returns to over for 4 minutes, mix again. Reduce temp. to 325._

__

__

_Wine mixture:_

__3 c. red wine (inexpensive)  
2-3 c. Chie stock   
1 tbsp. tomato paste   
2 cloves garlic, mashed   
1/2 tsp. thyme   
Bay leaf, crumbled   
1 lg. onion, chopped and sauteed   
1 lb. mushrooms, quartered and sauteed 

__

_1\. Mix ½ cup of wine with remaining ingredients._

_2\. Combine remaining wine with stock._

_3\. Mix into meat mixture._

_4\. Cook for 2 ½ hours at 325 degrees._

__

_When ready to serve, saute mushrooms and onions. Distribute evenly over meat. Serve with mashed potatoes, noodles or rice. Decorate with parsley._

__

* * *

“Hey, can I come in?” And Rise immediately jams her shoe in before Souji can manage to slam it shut. What's with rude boyfriends and doors nowadays? “Sorry. Busy, Souji? Guess I can come later. But I won't. So open up.” 

If Souji notices the drop of honorific from his name, he doesn't show any sign of it. With a disgruntled sigh, he opens the door and leans sideways to make way for Rise. “I'm kinda busy right now,” he says. 

“Busy what? Screwing girls?” 

“What? Screwing--” 

“Screwing? I said sewing for girls. You've been learning from Kanji, right? He makes the nice toys for the kids around here. Anyway,” she unceremoniously goes to the kitchen, grabs a spoon and sits herself on the table. “I made you lunch.” 

Souji frowns at the container. “I don't think it's a very good idea. I've already had lunch anyway.” 

Rise does her best puppy eyes approximation. “ _Pleeease_?” 

“Fine,” Souji says curtly, sitting himself and opening the container with much more force than needed. He sighs and then takes a cautious bite. And takes another one. And another one. 

Rise watches his expression intently, but after a while of silence she pouts and reaches over to shake his shoulder gently. 

“Gosh Souji! Don't just eat. So. How does it taste?” 

"Well..." He's scooping up mouthfuls with a frown. “The meat doesn't taste like anything I've eaten. What is it?” 

“Oh. It's venison.” 

“Doesn't taste like any venison I've eaten.” 

Well, that's probably because you never tasted _this_ venison. My lost, little lambs. “It's a special kind of venison. High grade – pretty expensive to get.” How much is a person worth to an insurance company? Ten million yen? Less? “Is it good?” 

“It's... stringy and a bit hard to chew, but I suppose it's passable. Actually,” he smiles, “you've really improved, Rise.” 

He's smiling, but she's not reacting like she used to. In fact, the only thing she feels is annoyance. This coming from a guy who tried to slam the door on her face? Bi-polar dick. But regardless, she smiles back. “Should I come back tomorrow and bring some more?” 

“Yeah, that'd be great, thanks.” 

Indeed. How many days does it take for something to discompose anyway? Grandma needs to buy a bigger freezer. 

* * *

The postcards in her room show sceneries with blindingly blue skies, silhouettes of buildings against the sun on a cloudless day. She wonders when she'll see a sky so beautiful again, because it's gray. Everything in Inaba is gray, gray like brain matter, gray like Souji's stupid bowl hair. It's getting foggier and foggier as each day passes; so thick it's getting hard to navigate through the streets – even at the brightest day. Because the sun itself is getting dimmer, its lustre only a shade of its former self. 

She stares at the mirror, closes her eyes, and stays silent for a moment. 

All right. 

Moment of reflection: done. Guilt felt: none. Which means that everything is okay. She'll need to move fast on Naoto, though. She'll probably have to do it alone, because Yukiko has disappeared god knows where and people are starting to wonder where Chie is. Guess the texts she sent through Chie's phone about her going to China to study kung fu doesn't work too well. And since people are wondering, getting Naoto would be easy – just a matter of luring her into the bomb shelter and repeat. Repeat like Chie. 

But then there's the gun she's always carrying. Well, that will be easy, too. If there's a fault with her friends, then it's their utterly trusting nature. Rise is just a cheerful, slightly airheaded idol; there's no way she'd have anything to do with Chie's disappearance. No sir, none at all. 

She tries Yukiko's number again. First ring. Second ring. Third. Fourth. Rise is about to leave a scathing voice mail when Yukiko answers. 

“What?” she says in a vaguely irritated voice. 

“Ooh nothing. Just wondering where you've gone this past few days and all.” 

There is a sigh, then silence at the other end of the line. Despite Rise's cheerful tone, she's close to throwing the phone onto the wall. People are just _so_ rude nowadays. But maybe it's just because Yukiko's been seeing the same thing in the mirror. And the fog does strange things to your head, that she understands. So she'll give Yukiko a little bit of leeway. 

“Look, I just need you to do a favour for me, okay?” she says, “please?” 

“...what?” 

“Lure Naoto.” 

“...Naoto-kun?” 

“Yep. Souji's been screwing her, too. Saw them kissing by the river bank the other day. No wonder he's been indifferent to Chie.” She doesn't need to see Yukiko to sense her hesitation. “Look. You don't have to do anything. I'll take it from there, okay?” 

“I-- I can't. There's no reason for me to do anything—” 

Fucking hypocrite. “Don't act like a saint after all that. You smiled when you were mutilating Chie, sempai. You _smiled_. So don't act like you're just some innocent little girl okay?” 

(shadows shadows on the wall) 

__

There's silence. And then the full whip of Yukiko's anger. “And do you think I would have done that if not for your _manipulative goading_?” There's an echo in Yukiko's voice, Rise notes with satisfaction. It gives it a sweet, sadistic edge to it. There's nothing else she likes to hear better. 

__

She smiles. “Oh yes you will. And you'll enjoy every moment of it.” 

__

(who's the darkest of them all?) 

__

The sensation of budding arousal has started even before the line disconnected. She has no time to dally on such a trivial matter, though. Grandma needs dinner, and she'll have to do grocery shopping in five minutes. _Junes again_. Such a shame her grandmother is a vegetarian. Otherwise it might just save her thirty minutes of gruelling walk. 


End file.
